Fairer fare system

Posted: Sunday, October 30, 2005

IN RAISING taxi fares last week, the Savannah City Council gave cab drivers a needed buffer from rising gasoline costs that were cutting into their income.

By including language to the taxi ordinance that provides automatic annual increases based on the Consumer Price Index, council members also showed their willingness to embrace innovation. They deserve a sweet toot on the horn for that.

Before last week, taxi fares in Savannah hadn't changed since April 2001. In the past four years, however, gas prices have gone from $1.35 a gallon to nearly $3.50, before settling around $2.50 last week. Last year's addition of surcharges (50 cents for fares under $10 and $1 for fares over $10) didn't do much to alleviate the rapidly rising cost of a fill-up.

The rate approved last Thursday - $3.50 for the first mile, up from $2.70, and $1.80 for each additional mile, up from $1.50 - isn't the $2 a mile cab drivers were hoping for. Still, it's a reasonable increase.

The new rates are based upon the averages charged in other cities in the region. The regional average is $3.69 for the first mile, just above the new rate, but Savannah drivers will be getting a little more than average for longer trips - $19.70 for a 10-mile trip as compared to the regional average of $18.49.

Drivers have long complained about the lack of adequate taxi stands downtown, which forced cabs to keep circling to pick up customers. The ordinance now allows taxis to park, one per block, to save on fuel.

But it's the automatic increase that should keep the drivers smiling. Under the revised ordinance, each March the rate will increase based on the change in the CPI the previous year. For an industry that has been ignored, that provision should be welcome.

This innovative approach is an indication that, in a city that often seems wedded to tradition because that's the way it's always been done, the City Council is willing to look at new ways of problem-solving.

Such openness to new ideas may also help council members find a way to provide a discount for poor people who have to take taxis out of necessity. Although Chatham Area Transit offers low-priced mass transit, some low-income riders might not be able to get where they need to go, or as fast as they need to get there, by bus. A taxi may be their only option.

City officials and taxi representatives have tried to come to an understanding on this issue, but have yet to figure out how to implement it. One proposal is to have drivers kick in a 10 percent discount if the city contributes the same.

The city and the drivers will continue to work on this idea and attempt to hammer out a compromise.

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson said that in rewriting the taxi fare structure, the city wanted to be fair, both to the drivers and to their customers. The changes approved last Thursday do two things - they address the needs of the drivers, who must deal with seemingly ever-increasing gasoline prices, and they address passengers who want affordable transportation.

But it's the automatic annual rate increases that make this ordinance an improvement. Drivers know they can count on help to deal with gas price increases without making regular treks back to City Hall for rate revisions. That should save them a little gas.